Once Upon An Equestrian Time
by Bluelazor
Summary: The Evil Queen cast her curse and sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest to a new realm. Unfortunately, she messed up somewhere and the curse sent everyone to Equestria instead of Earth. The curse is now broken and Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Goldhoof is on a quest to bring his magic to the way it used to be. Based on this FB page: Mr. Goldhoof (FiM)
1. The Problem

"_You broke our deal! You coward!" _Baelfire's voice echoed through Mr. Goldhoof's head as he laid on his bed, staring at his brown hooves. He released an unwelcome sigh as he closed his yellow eyes. Another voice entered his mind, _"You're a coward, Rumpelstiltskin, and no matter how thick you make your skin, that doesn't change."_ His front hooves covered his brown ears, running over his tan, curly mane, while his hind legs moved upwards, making him into a more ball position, his scroll cutie-mark on both sides of his back. It had been just over 28 years since Regina cast his curse, sending everyone to another realm. She messed up somewhere, though, as it was supposed to send them to a land without magic, but instead it sent them to a realm called Equestria and turned everyone into ponies in the process. Lucky for him the enchanted tree had sent Emma to Equestria as well and she did break the curse eventually. The blonde Pegasus was stubborn and didn't believe for the longest time, a surprise to Mr. Goldhoof since she's a horse with wings smaller than the rest of her and she can still fly.

Rising from his bed, Mr. Goldhoof made his way downstairs without paying much attention to where he was going. Belle stumbled when he bumped into her, which instantly pulled him out of his thoughts and back to the world.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't lost in thought, dearie," he mumbled to the white pony before him.

"It's quite alright. What were you thinking about?" She gave him a concerned smile, her blue eyes staring at him with wonder with her brown mane in perfect curls around her face. He loved those curls, but he loved the mare even more.

"Home."

"I'm sure we'll be back soon. It'll be alright."

Mr. Goldhoof merely nodded and trotted off to the kitchen, "I'll make us some tea," he called out as he entered the room he desired. The brown stallion focused entirely on the cupboard. He brought magic back to himself, but there was something wrong with his powers, he couldn't control it like he used to. It didn't cooperate, it never cooperated. There was something he's misssing. _"What is it? What am I missing?"_ He thought as he struggled to open the cupboard with magic, a loud thud snapped him back to reality to the sight of the cupboard open, but the door opened too far and broke off of the wall. Another sigh escaped him, _"Just my luck."_ Not wishing any further damage, he carefully picked up the tea set and progressed in the cycle of tea making.

An hour passed and Mr. Goldhoof found himself in his study when there was a knock at the door. He disliked the interruption, he never liked the disturbance when there was a problem he needed to solve.

"What is it?" He called out, trying to not sound annoyed. The door opened as a light blue stallion entered the study, his light blonde mane moving perfectly around his horn, a top hat upon his head, and a nice suit on his front. "Ah, Jefferson. Come to make another deal?"

"No, not exactly." The stallion's deep voice echoed around the circular study. "I thought you might be having trouble with your magic, since you're not a unicorn. I came to offer my services."

"I don't need your help, dearie. I can handle it on my own. It could be worse, I could be the Queen right now."

"Yeah," Jefferson smiled, "she's humiliated. A unicorn that can barely even manage levitating an empty tea cup."

"That's her price."

"You're not a unicorn, but you still manage to use magic... It seems to not be as strong as it used to be."

"I have been researching on that for the past forty-five minutes. I did find an interesting passage right here," Mr. Goldhoof pointed out a paragraph from an open book with his hoof, Jefferson cautiously trotted over to his host and glanced at the paragraph. "According to this, if I kill a powerful unicorn or an alicorn, all of my powers will be restored."

"You could kill Regina," Jefferson responded, hoping that's what will happen, "she was a powerful witch."

" 'Was' is the key word. Currently she isn't all that powerful and I'm not patient enough to wait for her to figure out how to get her powers."

"I don't count, I can't even use the hat right now. You could try Canterlot, that's where the supposed rulers of this realm live, they're both alicorns."

"Yes, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I've read all about them." Mr. Goldhoof smiled, "perhaps it's time I visited this land's capitol."

Jefferson left a few minutes later, disappointed that Mr. Goldhoof wasn't about to kill Regina anytime soon, as well as relieved that he wasn't on the Dark One's "To Kill" list. The earth stallion went to his bedroom and began packing what he needed for the journey.

"Are we going somewhere?" Belle asked with curiosity as she came up behind Mr. Goldhoof.

"Yes, dearie. We're going on a trip to Canterlot. I know you couldn't see much of our home world, so I thought you'd enjoy seeing this one," Mr. Goldhoof replied, it was only half of the truth. He couldn't afford telling her what his real intent is, she'd do everything she could to talk him out of it.

"I thought we couldn't leave Storybrooke."

"The curse is broken, Belle. We can go wherever we want in this land now."

"In that case, I'll go pack too," Belle left to her room, very happy with the idea of seeing this new world with her true love.

Mr. Goldhoof completed his packing and smiled at his luggage. He'll be powerful again soon, then no one could stand in his way of getting his son back.


	2. Canterlot

"_Your magic is limited by its own rotten core, Rumpelstiltskin," the Blue Fairy glared at Rumpelstiltskin as she floated at eye level in front of him, "anyway, it can't be done. Not without a great price."_

"_I've already paid a great price," Rumpelstiltskin responded, growing to hate the little fairy with every beat of his darkened heart._

"_So you'd be willing to sacrifice this world for the next? Because that's how great the price is."_

"_Oh, what do you think?"_

"_Well, I'll comfort myself in knowing that such a curse is beyond your abilities."_

"_For now, but I've got all the time in the world. You took my son, but I will get him back."_

"Rumpelstiltskin, wake up," Belle shook Mr. Goldhoof awake.

"Hm? What is it?" He asked groggily while rubbing his eyes.

"You looked upset, like you were having a nightmare," his companion answered with a concerned look on her face, "you were mumbling too, something about someone taking your son. What happened?"

"It's nothing, just a dream."

"Oh, alright." Just then the carriage stopped and a stallion opened the door.

"We're here," the red pony murmured, obviously tired from pulling the carriage all night, "welcome to Canterlot." The stallion helped Belle out of the carriage and returned her grateful smile. Mr. Goldhoof helped himself out, paid the stallion, and carried the luggage on his own to their hotel.

The brown earth pony scanned the small hotel room over, it wasn't as extravagant as his house in Ponybrooke or his rather large estate in the Enchanted Forest, but it would do as a temporary place Belle was already exploring the nearby streets and buying their dinner, it'd be a few hours before she would return to the hotel. Plenty of time for Mr. Goldhoof to gather his thoughts and come up with a plan. Who should he kill? The more powerful the unicorn or alicorn, the more likely he'd regain his powers, but that also meant they'd be more difficult to kill in the first place. In his current state, he couldn't take on Princess Celestia, he knew that. Princess Luna might be the better option, but nopony had seen much of her since those six ponies changed her with the "power of friendship". Mr. Goldhoof snorted at the thought, _"Power of friendship? Friendship isn't that powerful."_ He found little point in friendship, before he became the Dark One, everyone couldn't stand the sight of him, he was the coward no one liked very much. After he became the Dark One, everyone feared him and usually ran away at the sight of him. To him friendship was overrated. If that was the case, then Luna would be the perfect beginning opponent. She was powerful, but weak at the same time, plus nopony had seen her in months, which meant not that many would care if she mysteriously died.

A mischievous smile spread across his pony face, it was decided. All he had to do was get in good view of the princesses and wait for the right moment. The real dilemma was how would he ever meet the princesses, let alone get on their good side. Earlier than expected, Belle entered the hotel room.

"Rumpelstiltskin! You're never going to believe what just happened to me," Belle exclaimed as she rushed over to her beloved.

"You chipped another tea cup?" Mr. Goldhoof teased.

"No," Belle laughed, knowing full well he was teasing, "I got us tickets to an event at the castle. It's called the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Interesting," Mr. Goldhoof hid his enthusiasm. He found his chance. "When is this Grand Galloping Gala?"

"It's actually next week," Belle answered, "we might need new things for it. I know it's a bit last minute for something like this, but I was hoping we could go."

"Of course we can, dearie," he smiled, "whatever your heart desires."

Belle smiled and began deciding what she should wear to the Gala.

_Everything is falling into place._


	3. The Gala

Mr. Goldhoof stepped out of the carriage, wearing his finest suit with a rose. He turned around and helped Belle out, her shoes made a clinking noise as she stepped onto the pavement, her golden gown swayed around the skirt and a part of her mane was pulled up in a bun while the rest flowed around her in perfect curls. The pair stared in awe at the castle before them. It was tall with many towers, the most towers either of them had ever seen on a single castle. The castle seemed to rise into the sky and sink into the mountain beside it, they gasped at the sight of the fireworks soaring into the sky and decorating it with an assortment of colors. Tonight was definitely a special night.

"This is going to be the best night ever," Belle smiled excitedly at the prospect of meeting new ponies and hopefully making new friends.

"Of course it will be," Mr. Goldhoof commented with other ideas going through his mind. "_Where will the princesses be?" _They soon had to hurry to the side as an apple-shaped carriage pulled up, the carriage stopped and a baby dragon hopped off from his seat to open the door. Mr. Goldhoof looked at the dragon and carriage with curiosity, even by Equestrian standards this sight was unusual. Six mares soon stepped out of the carriage, two of each kind of pony, all of them having unique dresses which Mr. Goldhoof could tell already were made with their personalities in mind. It didn't take him long to figure out who made the dresses, it was the white unicorn in the purple and pink dress. She's talented at making dresses, but certainly not what he'd be looking for to regain his powers.

The couple progressed across the bridge and entered the castle, Belle admired the decorations and stain-glass windows as Mr. Goldhoof eyed the tall alicorn at the top of the stairs. The alicorn was white with a pastel-mrainbow mane that seemed to sway like fire, her golden crown rested on her head just behind her long horn and she wore a matching necklace around her neck. _"That must be Celestia," _Mr. Goldhoof concluded as he made his way towards the alicorn. Hearing the sound of hooves clanking against the cobbles, he glanced over to see one of the mares from before rush past him. She was a purple unicorn with a darker purple mane with pink stripes, she wore a blue ball gown that glistened with stars like the night sky.

"Princess Celestia!" The purple pony gasped enthusiastically when she reached the princess.

"Twilight!" Celestia greeted, "it is so lovely to see my star student."

"I'm so excited to be here! We have so much to catch up on!"

"Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening, so we'll have plenty of time together." Twilight raced over to stand at Celestia's side.

"That's just what I was hoping you'd say," she smiled excitedly.

Mr. Goldhoof continued towards the stairs when he was suddenly pulled away by a gray stallion in a blue top hat.

"What do you want?" Mr. Goldhoof calmly asked, hiding his agitation very well.

"I say, you must be new to Canterlot, are you not?" The stallion inquired, his monocle rising and falling with his cheekbones as he spoke.

"Yes, I arrived last week from Ponybrooke."

"Ponybrooke? How quaint."

"You have no idea. By any chance, do you know who that unicorn is? The one next to the princess?"

"Indeed, I do. That is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's favorite student. She's staying in Ponyville to study the magic of friendship."

"I see. Does she specialize in magic?"

"Yes, and very good at it too. There has yet to be a spell she couldn't cast."

"Ah. That's quite interesting."

"Indeed. It is very fascinating."

Mr. Goldhoof was about to respond when something caught his attention. The white unicorn rushed past him, then slowed down, then sped up again, then slowed down. _"What is wrong with her?"_ He pondered as he watched her talk to herself before going out into the garden in a daze, like a fan who just saw their favorite celebrity.

"I say, shall we go out to the garden? It is quite enjoyable outside," the stallion asked.

"I don't see why not," Mr. Goldhoof responded as they trotted out into the garden.

"I've come here from Manehattan. It's quite surprising to find that Canterlot is quieter than Manehattan, I always imagined the capitol to be much busier than it is." Mr. Goldhoof merely nodded, deciding to let the stranger do all of the talking. "Manehattan is quite the large city, there's always something going on somewhere."

The pointless rambling of the stranger was soon drowned out as Mr. Goldhoof found something more entertaining. An orange earth mare wearing an apple themed cowgirl outfit pushed a cart in the middle of the garden, she kicked the cart and it opened up, revealing several kind of apple related desserts. _"The Queen would love that cart,"_ he noted as he pretended to be interested in what his talkative companion had to say. A blue stallion in some sort of lightning designed costume calmly walked up to the apple cart, his eyes already on an apple pie.

"Howdy partner," the mare greeted the stallion, "ya hungry?"

"As a horse," the stallion responded, throwing his head back for unnecessary dramatic emphasis.

"Well wha'cha hankerin' for?" She then continued to point at each of her many desserts, "caramel apple? Apple pie? Apple fritter? Apple fries?"

"I'll take that big apple pie!" He exclaimed, pointing at the apple pie and already drooling. Dropping two bits into the barrel, he took his pie.

"Well thank ya kindly, sir," she graciously replied as she gave him the pie. As he trotted off with the pie, she waved her hooves in the air in celebration and shouted, "yee haw! In the first minute, I made my first sale!"

Attempting to escape the boring one-sided conversation, Mr. Goldhoof began to trot into the ball room, only to be followed by the stranger and forced to deal with his ramblings about Manehattan and his business that Mr. Goldhoof couldn't care less about. Standing in the ballroom, he rejoiced when the stranger stopped talking and soon figured out why. A pink pony in a very pink dress, decorated with an assortment of candy with the skirt shaped like a cupcake and the chest spot was white like frosting. She was bouncing while entering the ballroom and singing a song excitedly.

"I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala! I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala!" She then proceeded to appear anywhere at random, doing things that were just as random as her appearances, "I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala! It's all I ever dreamed! It's all I ever dreamed! Woo hoo! It's all I ever dreamed! Yippee! I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala!" The entire room was glaring at her, the last bit went quiet and nervous, "it's all I've ever dreamed?"

Exasperated, Mr. Goldhoof took advantage of the distraction to leave the stranger and go out into the garden again. He was already behind schedule, he was supposed to have met the princess by now and slithering his way into her good side, but that hasn't happened thanks to the stranger who wouldn't leave him alone and it probably wouldn't happen tonight because that Twilight Sparkle wouldn't leave Celestia's side for anything. A walk was needed, it was time to clear his head and come up with something. Another plan. Walking past the orange mare at the apple stand, he overheard her keeping track of sales and time.

"First minute, first sale," she said out loud. _"Well at least one of us is having everything go according to plan,"_ Mr. Goldhoof angrily thought as he walked away from the mare and her many apples. Looking up at the sky, he noticed a shadow soar across it. Instantly he knew who it was. It was the Princess of the Night. It was none other than Princess Luna herself. Perfect, all he needed to do was figure out where in the castle she's going to land and meet her there. With everyone busy with the Gala, they wouldn't notice him wondering through the rest of the castle. Now was his chance.


	4. Similarities

The light of the full moon glowed through the stain-glass windows, lighting the stone walls with various star sizes as Mr. Goldhoof climbed up the long stair case towards the top of the tower. Echoes of his hooves landing on the stone stairs were blocked out as his mind wondered through his memories.

"_Did he tell you?" The knight in black armor snidely asked Baelfire as the light of the torches danced on their faces, "did he tell you how he ran when the ogres turned the tide of the battle and all the others were killed and he returned home to a wife who could not bear the sight of him?" Baelfire stared at the knight in shock._

"_Please," Rumpelstiltskin faintly whispered, humiliated by the scene before him._

"_You see, women do not like to be married to cowards," the knight continued, either not hearing Rumpelstiltskin or taking pleasure in humiliating the coward in front of his son._

"_Please don't speak to my boy like that," Rumpelstiltskin begged, his voice still barely heard by the others in the torchlight. Baelfire was too stunned to say or do anything, the only sign that he was still functioning was his jaw dropping, forming his lips into a perfect circle._

"_It's treason to avoid service," the knight spoke up after a few moments of silence, "take the boy now."_

"_Oh, no no!" Rumpelstiltskin spoke up, finally making himself heard, "what do you want?"_

"_What do I want?" The knight smirked, "you have no money, no influence, no land, and no title, or power. The truth is all you really have is fealty." He paused a few seconds to let his statement sink into the father and son's minds, "kiss my boot."_

"_What?" Rumpelstiltskin asked in confusion and surprise._

"_You asked my price. Kiss. My. Boot."_

_Rumpelstiltskin fell onto his hands and knees, crawling pathetically towards the knight's boot. Pressing his lips against the muddy boots, he kissed it and soon heard the knight's laughter. Before he knew it, the knight's boot rose up and kicked Rumpelstiltskin's face._

"_Papa!" Baelfire exclaimed as he caught his father._

Mr. Goldhoof sneered at the memory, remembering how it felt to be so weak and helpless. He remembered what it was like to be unable to protect his son, to not give him what he desired. His mind traveled to another set of memories.

_The Dark One fell to the ground, his blood oozing out the wound. His dagger was sticking out of his chest with the name "Zoso" written on it. Rumpelstiltskin was in a panic, he didn't know what to do. The Dark One's distortion faded away, revealing him to be the beggar Rumpelstiltskin met only a few days before, the one who told him about the Dark One and his mystical dagger. The old man laughed at the coward looking down upon him while his hands were shakily gripping the dagger._

"_Looks like you made a deal you didn't understand," Zoso smiled, revealing gaps in his teeth, "you won't be doing that again."_

"_You wanted me to kill you," Rumpelstiltskin nervously spoke up, the reality of the situation sinking in, "why?"_

"_My life was such a burden. Magic always comes with a price and now it's yours to pay."_

_With shaking hands, Rumpelstiltskin pulled the dagger out of Zoso who soon took his final breath before dying. The remaining man stared in shock at the name 'Rumpelstiltskin' engraved in the dagger, surrounded by Zoso's blood. As Rumpelstiltskin felt the power of the Dark One sink into his very being, he could feel his fears drifting away, lost by the lust for power and the knew-found knowledge he needed to protect his son._

Mr. Goldhoof smiled a crooked smile as he reached the top of the stairs. He had that power before, he could get it all back, and he had all the time in the world to retrieve it. The door before him squeaked as he pushed it open and trotted into the astronomy tower. Everything in the room amazed the brown stallion. Glancing this way and that way, he noticed bookshelves with several books all on astronomy and telescopes all pointing up at the sky. He stopped and stared at the alicorn before him. She was beautiful with her long, blue legs and her crescent moon cutie-mark. Her greyish-blue mane fell neatly around her long face, a blue horn stuck out of the middle of her forehead and a dark blue crown rested perfectly behind it. Unlike the alicorn at the grand party in the main part of the castle, her mane was flowing, it looked like any other pony's mane. A clear sign that she was like him, she didn't have all of her powers back, however she could regain her powers without resorting to any violent behavior.

"Can we help you?" The alicorn practically shouted as she looked over at the company, confused at the fact that somepony even came here when there was a great party downstairs. A party her sister told her to not attend, stating it could frighten the guests.

"Are you Princess Luna?" Mr. Goldhoof answered with his own question, a bit caught off guard by the yelling.

"Yes, we are Princess Luna of the Night!" Luna answered in another shout.

"Is it necessary to shout like that?"

"It is tradition for royalty to address subjects using the Royal Canterlot Voice! Now tell us, who are you?"

"Mr. Goldhoof of Ponybrooke."

He looked Luna over. She didn't have all of her powers back, but she was still powerful. This was the perfect change, all he had to do was kill her and then he'd regain a large portion of his powers. It wouldn't be as much as killing Celestia, but it would be sufficient to get him to the next stage.

"Art thou lost, Mr. Goldhoof of Ponybrooke?" Her shouting interrupted his calculating thought process.

"No, I heard about you and came to meet you."

"Oh?" Princess Luna's yelling turned to a quieter, surprised tone, "you came to meet us? We are... Pleased." She had paused in thought of the right word for this scenario. Mr. Goldhoof politely smiled as he came closer to the princess.

"Don't worry, dearie. I'm not afraid of you. We are similar in many ways."

"We are?" Luna's expressions revealed her to be very confused.

"Yes, we've both had what we loved ripped from us and brought terror into everypony without really meaning to." Luna looked down at the floor, her perfectly shaped hooves rubbing against the stone flooring. She didn't know what to say to him, this was the first time since her return that anypony, besides her sister and those six ponies, showed any sort of compassion towards her. Everypony else seemed to be so terrified of her that they'd either run in fear or fall to the ground in a shaking frenzy. Mr. Goldhoof took this as his chance. He was about to summon his dagger with the little magic he had when suddenly the ground began to shake. Voices echoed all across the walls.

"You're... Going to LOVE ME!" A voice stood out above the rest, a screech of frustration. The princess and Mr. Goldhoof looked at each other in surprise, both unsure of what was going on. As sounds of galloping and statues falling down only one thing ran through his mind now. Belle was in danger.

"Belle!" Mr. Goldhoof gasped and turned to leave, "it was nice meeting you," he galloped out of the astronomy room and down the stairs.

"We were pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Goldhoof!" Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice echoed down the tower, following Mr. Goldhoof every step of the way.

A few agonizingly slow minutes later, Mr. Goldhoof entered the ballroom to the sight of ponies and various other animals racing about in a frenzy. The disorganization and fear was dreadful and the worst part was he couldn't see Belle anywhere in the commotion. She was no where in sight. Did somepony abduct her during the commotion? He stomped his hooves and snorted at the thought. They would pay for that.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" A voice called out. Mr. Goldhoof followed the voice and found the mare who made it. It was a frightened Belle. She was hiding behind a flipped table in the corner of the destroyed ballroom. Mr. Goldhoof used his magic to create an invisible barrier around them.

"Let's get out of here, Belle!" Mr. Goldhoof had to yell in order for Belle to hear him over the sound of panicking animals. He flipped the table upright and helped his beloved up, onto her hooves. Together they left the Gala, unharmed as animals bumped into the barrier and were launched away.

As the couple rode in the carriage away from the castle, Mr. Goldhoof stared out the window in thought, pretending to listen to Belle as she rambled about the Gala and how everything fell apart after he disappeared. Anger boiled up inside of him as he thought about Luna. He was so close to getting what he came here for. Only when Belle exhaustively rested herself against him did he calm down and smile. Belle was safe and he may cross paths with Luna again. Despite it not going as planned, it still worked out in its own way.

All he needed to do was be patient. Fortunately, patience is one of his specialties.


End file.
